The day after the end of the 2007-8 campaign, major rebuilding work commenced at the Säbener Straße. The former professionals’ quarters, a base for the playing staff since 1990, was entirely gutted, reconstructed and knocked through into the adjacent former fan shop, creating a totally new and state-of-the-art performance centre, all within the space of just six weeks. As former chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented: “We’re all thrilled. It’s a perfect oasis for the players, allowing them to focus 100 percent on football.“
The 2,000 square metre performance centre is primarily designed to help the players develop their skills, both on and off the field. The plans were partly inspired by the Player Lounges favoured by leading NFL and NBA clubs. The state-of-the-art weights and fitness area is located to one side, adjacent to the massage unit and the coaches’ office, where the head coach and his team conduct planning and analysis sessions.
The first floor also features an e-learning room, intended for language and computer classes. A staircase leads out onto the roof, where the glass cupola recognisable from the old fan shop now houses another innovative facility. The auditorium, effectively a private cinema with a 2.8m screen and 39 leather seats, is used for team talks and video analysis, with screened-off booths for up to five simultaneous translators.
The main dressing rooms, the coaches’ dressing room and the showers, with three ice water plunge baths, are located on the ground floor. Each of the lockers in the rebuilt dressing room incorporates a small digital message board, displaying each individual’s specific daily schedule.
The performance centre offers everything the stars require to work, rest and play. That idea appears to be an inspiration to others: the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan and other top clubs are planning similar facilities after viewing Bayern's ground-breaking development.